September 18 Daily Devotional

Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21

Jesus went out of the temple, which was a very majestic building, and one of his disciples said unto him, “Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here!” Jesus said, “Verily, I say unto you, the days will come, in which there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And he said … When ye hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled: these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes. in divers places, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. All these things are the beginning of sorrow … In your patience possess ye your souls … But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, stand in the holy place … Then let them which are in Judea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the house top not come down to take anything out of his house. Neither let him that is in the field return back to take his clothes. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, nor never shall be. For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath unto this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the sea and the waves be roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other … But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels … neither the Son, but the Father.”